Dr Phil has been heavily criticised for his controversial interview with The Shining actress Shelley Duvall in which she discusses her mental illness.

Duvall shot to fame in the 1980 cult horror film opposite Jack Nicholson and made her last film in 2002.

In a special sit-down interview with the tv psychiatrist, the 67-year-old made worrying statements including describing her Popeye co-star, the late Robin Wililams, as not being dead and instead a "shapeshifter".

Throughout the exchange, Duvall was visibly agitated and said: “I need to get the Bermuda Triangle off of me, because I do not want a hairy chest. I’m not a Chia Pet.”

Shelley Duvall in conversation with Dr Phil

In promotional clips for the interview, she says, "I am very sick. I need help."

At the end of the 45-minute interview, she consents to being taken to a facility in her native state of Texas with the assistance of her mother and sister.

“After three days at the treatment cenre, Shelley still refused to take any medications and she would not sign the paperwork required to treat her,” he said at the end of the programme.

“She was accompanied by trained professionals and was safely returned to her family and boyfriend at home.

Shelley Duvall in The Shining

"We are happy to report that we are now working directly with Shelley’s mother and are providing Shelley treatment from a group of local professionals who, due to her refusal to take medication, will use alternative methods to treat her.”

"We will keep you updated on her progress and hope, hope, hope that there is a happy ending to this story,"

Mia Farrow's son Ronan and director Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian were vocal in their criticism of the segment, with Vivian describing it as "appallingly cruel".

. Duvall previously said the intensity of working with Kubrick and Nicholson on The Shining left her emotionally scarred. "I lost some of my innocence on The Shining, because for the first time I felt I had to have a lawyer," she said.